On Saturday  November 8th, 2008 my world blew apart – literally.   I was carrying a package I thought was a gift when it exploded in my hands.

We had recently sold our cozy townhouse and were excited to move into a larger home with a yard for our daughters.  The day started out with a quiet breakfast of tea and cinnamon buns.   We were reflecting on the many fond memories from our time living in this wonderful, friendly neighborhood of beautiful Walnut Grove. Moving to a new neighborhood was going to be harder than we thought.

After breakfast, my wife Lynda and I kissed our two daughters ages one and three good bye as they joyfully went to spend the day with their Oma.   We didn’t want to  worry about them getting in the way during a hectic day of moving.  The moving truck and a handful of family and friends came right on time to help us load up and get on our way. One of the last items that needed to be loaded onto the truck was the BBQ. I tossed the wet BBQ cover over the balcony railing, and my father helped me carry the BBQ down the stairs. As I went to retrieve the BBQ cover from the back yard I discovered an unexpected package sitting directly in front of the back door.

“How nice!” I thought, “one of our friendly neighbors has left us a going away present.  I really will miss this neighborhood. It’s too bad the kids aren’t home to discover and enjoy this, whatever surprise gift they would find inside.”   As I picked it up and as I walked through the back room and into the garage I remember wrestling in my mind about what I should do with the gift.  Should I put it on the truck for the kids to open later?  Should I run it up to Lynda for her to open?  While I stood there wondering, the brightly colored package violently exploded in my hands.

The deafening blast felt like a vicious slap by a tsunami of fire.  It had enough force to send me flying backwards, violently knocking the wind right out of me.  I was stunned, injured and in excruciating pain. My first thoughts, next to the utter shock of realizing that it was a bomb, were towards God. Before I hit the ground I sensed a deep connection with him as I asked with great surprise: “What do you want to do with this?”

Lying on the garage floor, holding my face together and gasping for breath my thoughts quickly turned to how grateful I was that my two precious daughters were not here to experience this horrific trauma. I was also grateful that my wife was upstairs packing, and my father was in the back room picking up boxes.   The blast sent razor sharp shrapnel tearing through my face, chest, arms and legs. I was bleeding from my face and having a difficult time catching my breath. All I could do to breathe was to breathe through a scream. The garage was full of thick smoke and I could hear my dad and my wife Lynda calling for me. As I lay on the floor desperately trying to stop the blood that was gushing from my face I could hear many people scrambling and screaming for someone to call 911.

The bomb left me with a severely lacerated face, abdomen, chest, and arm. I had a hole in my abdomen and burns from my knees to abdomen.  My sinus was shattered and my jaw was cracked.   I was relieved to find so many people quickly coming to my aid. The police were just down the street when they received the many frantic 911 calls. And the ambulance seemed to only take minutes to arrive on the scene.

The next thing I knew, I was sitting outside on the sidewalk with a towel pressed up against my face. Then I was whisked off in the ambulance for a number of surgeries and 5 days in the hospital.

I had the opportunity to return to our townhouse after I was released from the hospital. I was shocked to learn the extent of the damage done to our home. The blast blew large holes through the walls, ceiling and even the cement floor. It even blew through the neighbor’s window across the street. When I saw the damage done to one of our hardwood dining room chairs that was waiting to be loaded in the truck, I knew that it was only by the grace of God that I was still alive.

The experience sent my family and entire community into absolute chaos, with everyone asking the question, Who would plan to bomb and kill an innocent family like ours?
While I have great confidence in the Langley RCMP and the officers who we have trusted to bring the people or person responsible to justice, a year after the incident, the question of who still remains unanswered.

While there is no evidence to suggest that the bomb was targeted towards me or our family in anyway, we can clearly see that whoever planned, built and carefully planted this evil device must have been tormented with incredible anger and hate.

Ever since our peaceful world had been so violently interrupted, I have become much more aware of the violence that continues to make headlines throughout our world and community.  Whether it is international news of a child suicide bomber, the latest victim of gang violence, or headlines of police being deployed with automatic assault rifles, we all recognize that something is terribly wrong with our world. We know deep in our souls that this is not how the world should be.

We are so inundated with acts of violence in our news whether it be from our local community or from the other side of the world that we are almost numb to it.  At least until it happens to you or someone you know and love.

We can try to ignore violence as long as possible, but every act of violence affects our entire community. One act of violence doesn’t just damage one life, it damages many others and potentially generations. Now through the power of the internet one act of violence is felt around the world, as we are increasingly becoming one global community.

I have recently read a book called Soul Cravings and I have really appreciate what my friend and author Erwin McManus has to say about the common thread between love and community as opposed to hate and isolation.

In entry 5 of Soul Cravings Erwin writes: The farther we move from community, the closer we move to violence.

Why is this? Because the farther we move away from understanding and caring for the needs of others, the closer we are to selfish judgment, prejudice and hatred.

This may not be true in every case of violence, but it seems to be true in the case of the quiet community of Jefferson County Colorado when two teenage boys planned for over a year to ruthlessly massacre as many students and teachers at Columbine High School as possible.

In Soul Cravings Erwin writes:

If I know nothing else about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, I know that they had given up on love. They no longer considered themselves as part of the human community. They cared for no one and cared about no one, not even themselves. Where there is no love there is no value for life. When hate consumes our hearts, all we can think of, all we desire is to destroy.
When there is disengagement from human community, there is the potential for inhumanity.

The human heart was not created to be a container for hate.

When we allow bitterness, jealousy, envy, racism, lust, greed, and arrogance to fuel our souls, we create an environment within us to be agents of violence.

We live in a time when the most terrifying bomb is not a nuclear one, but a human one.

As a follower of Jesus, I believe that we are created for love and to love, not to hate. I believe that we are created to live and thrive in community, not in isolation or exclusivity. The danger of loving nothing or loving ideas that teach that one view of the world is superior over another, is that these ideas only fuel racism and fanaticism.

There is a dramatic difference between fanaticism and love.

Fanaticism justifies and defines who you hate.

True love is unconditional – true love sacrifices oneself for another without expecting anything in return.

Unconditional love embraces and forgives and leaves no room for violence.

So if we are created for love, what happens inside a human being when belief in an ideology becomes more important than a human life?

I recently read that the security costs for the upcoming Vancouver Olympic Games were originally estimated to be $175 million dollars, but now critics are claiming the new estimates for security will push past $1 billion.  I am all for the games, and believe that we need to have security at the games. But it is the fear of violence that costs us all in the end. You don’t even need to know the ins and outs of world politics to realize that something’s wrong with this picture, that this is not what the world was created to be like.

How dark must a human soul become to justify taking the life of an innocent person just to make a point?

In light of what happened to us last November, this question resonates with us the most. Even though we may never know the true answer to the question of motive, I think it is what our entire community seeks to know.

I think my friend Erwin communicates the issue relevantly when he writes in Soul Cravings:

We stand in the midst of a human dilemma.

We long for community; we long to belong; we long for love.

Yet what we long for most we seem incapable of sustaining.

Humanity has no natural predators except each other.

We are safer in the jungle than in the city.

We are our own worst enemies.

I have heard many people say that religion is one of the main causes of violence and war, both historically and presently. As a person of deep faith and a follower of Jesus, I really think that the world has a skewed perception of the difference between organized religion and having a dynamic, life transforming relationship with Jesus Christ. It is through my relationship with Jesus that God has absolutely transformed my life.

As a Christian, my holy scriptures describe God as a loving creator and father. As a father who is deeply involved and concerned about his creation he knows the depth of our potential to hate, inclination to be violent, so he provided a way to deal with this problem through Jesus. Jesus took on the full judgment/penalty of God’s anger against humanity’s violence (Jesus took on all the violence).  A father who is passionately pursuing us much more than we are trying to pursue him. The Bible is filled with stories of God reaching out to us with mercy, grace and love despite our sin/wrong doings, how we make a mess of our lives, society. The main message of the Bible can be simplified to one simple yet profound passage:

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son. Who ever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” What great news!

It’s simply about trust and acceptance of God’s gift of love. I’ve come to discover that it’s not about do’s and don’ts or rules to follow, which is what the religions of our world has taught us to believe. In the book of Jeremiah, God says that he loves us with an everlasting love. God’s heart is that no one would perish but have everlasting life and relationship with him.

Again, I really like what my friend Erwin McManus says about love in his book Soul Cravings:

We speak of true love not only lasting a lifetime, but lasting forever.

We can’t manage [what’d it be like] to meet the standards of love [forever], and so we just accept that love isn’t all it’s made out to be. Prepare to be disappointed. Isn’t that the history of love? We can never live up to its standards. I think we recognize this when it comes to God. If God loves conditionally, we’re all in trouble. And this, when you whittle it down to its bottom line, is the basis of all religion.

God loves but on condition. Meet the conditions and gain the love. Love is something that is attained. Oh, we use different words for it—forgiveness, mercy, acceptance, grace—all really different words for love.

In this it appears that all religions are the same. They give God a name and then establish the rules that we must follow if we are to gain his favor and affection. I think this is why a lot of us see all religions as different ways of getting to the same thing.

Some girls want flowers; others, chocolates; others, meaningful conversation (and you thought the flowers and chocolates were expensive); all different ways of trying to get to the same place— to be loved, to find love.

Religion exists not because God loves too little, but because we need love so much. In the end all religions misrepresent God. They either dictate requirements for love or simply become a requiem for love. I think many of us have rightly given up on God on this basis alone. We’ve been told that God is a reluctant lover and that his standards must be met before there can be any talk of love. This is lunacy. Love exists because God is love. Our souls will never find satisfaction until our hearts have found this love that we so desperately yearn for.

One of my favorite passages of scripture is in the book of John chapter 8 when the religious leaders try to trap Jesus by bringing him a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. In that day the crime of adultery was punishable by a violent death of stoning:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:3-11, NIV)

Through this passage we see God’s heart of unconditional love and forgiveness. The world seems to view Christianity as a set of rules, but this passage clearly reveals God’s true heart and love for people.  God’s main message is about relationship and forgiveness.

It is only through experiencing God’s unconditional love and forgiveness in my own life that gives me the ability to pass on love and forgiveness to others. Whether it be someone who cuts me off in traffic, or the very person who placed a bomb at my doorstep that nearly took my life.

If we really believe that the only way we are going to see an end to violence in our world today, and experience community in the way God has created it is to live a life of unconditional love as Jesus did.

And the only way I know to live like Jesus is to follow him.  God is good and approachable, he is not hard to find as he says in his Holy word. If you seek me you will find me when you seek me with all of your heart.

You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised. Is this the life for you?

If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest. Please let us know about your decision by clicking below, and let us know how we can help you continue your journey!

“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we must have the mind of Christ” 1 Corinthians 2:16, KJV

The first thing I do when I awaken each morning is to kneel before my Lord in humility, meditate upon His attributes, and praise, worship and adore Him.

The last thing I do before I go to bed at night is to kneel in prayer, to praise, worship and give thanks to Him. Thus, my first thoughts are automatically of Him when I awaken, because all night long my subconscious mind has been meditating on Him.

Every morning of every day, I acknowledge His lordship. I gladly surrender control of my life to Him acknowledging my dependence upon Him. Then, by faith, I claim His mind and His wisdom for direction in every detail of my life. I trust Him to influence and control my attitudes, my motives, my desires, my thoughts and my actions.

In different words and ways, I remind Him that I am a suit of clothes for Him and that He can do anything He wants in and through me. I invite Him to walk around in my body. I ask Him to think with my mind, to love with my heart, to speak with my lips, to lead me wherever He wants me to go, to seek and save the lost through me.

We should study the Word of God daily and diligently, determining as an act of the will to pattern our lives according to His commands and His example. We begin to experience the reality and the availability of the mind of Christ when we literally saturate our minds with His thoughts and spend much time meditating upon His Word.

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:9-15

Today’s Action Point: Consciously and deliberately I will begin each day by inviting Christ to walk around in my body, think with my mind, love with my heart, speak with my lips and continue to “seek and save the lost” through me.

About this Author: Bill Bright

Are you hurting? Do you need a listening ear? We would like to hear from you.

Our Lord commanded that we give attention to the world – to the hurting, the fearful, and the hopeless. Instead, many churches spend a high percentage of their time and resources on their own congregation’s needs. We who make up God’s body must align our thoughts with His and return to the church’s primary mission: proclaiming the truth about the grave danger facing mankind and about Jesus, the only One who can rescue them.

The church has been given the charge to demonstrate before an unbelieving world why the heavenly Father sent His Son to earth: to reveal through Christ’s life who God is, and to accomplish by means of His death the reconciliation of sinful man to God. Everything else we talk about – baptism, discipleship, giving, and righteous living – are extensions of the Gospel but not the heart of it.

No other “word” is needed because the good news about the Savior is sufficient. It relates to every maturity level, need, and season of life. It contains simple truths that the youngest or most uneducated can understand, and it is superior to all other philosophies and religions. Every promise God made is fulfilled through the person of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:20) Finally, the Gospel’s words are absolutely sure. Its eternal truths need no correction, never change, and lead to salvation through faith in Jesus.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you – as a “living stone” of the church – to examine what message your life and words proclaim. Only the Gospel of Christ saves.

Questions: Is there a hurting person in your life that needs your attention? What is the most important thing you can do for someone?

About the Author Charles Stanley

“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.’” Mark 16:15-16

Our Lord commanded that we give attention to the world – to the hurting, the fearful, and the hopeless. Instead, many churches spend a high percentage of their time and resources on their own congregation’s needs. We who make up God’s body must align our thoughts with His and return to the church’s primary mission: proclaiming the truth about the grave danger facing mankind and about Jesus, the only One who can rescue them.

The church has been given the charge to demonstrate before an unbelieving world why the heavenly Father sent His Son to earth: to reveal through Christ’s life who God is, and to accomplish by means of His death the reconciliation of sinful man to God. Everything else we talk about – baptism, discipleship, giving, and righteous living – are extensions of the Gospel but not the heart of it.

No other “word” is needed because the good news about the Savior is sufficient. It relates to every maturity level, need, and season of life. It contains simple truths that the youngest or most uneducated can understand, and it is superior to all other philosophies and religions. Every promise God made is fulfilled through the person of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:20) Finally, the Gospel’s words are absolutely sure. Its eternal truths need no correction, never change, and lead to salvation through faith in Jesus.

Ask the Holy Spirit to help you – as a “living stone” of the church – to examine what message your life and words proclaim. Only the Gospel of Christ saves.

Questions: How is your church serving the world? How can you seek to become a part of that gracious work?

About this Author: Charles Stanley

“He will listen to the prayers of the destitute for He is never too busy to heed their requests” Psalm 102:17

As a relatively young Christian businessman, I was deacon of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. I was asked to be the chairman of all of our deputation ministry involving more than 100 college and post college age men and women who dedicated their lives to serving Christ in the hospitals, jails and skid row missions.

On many occasions it was my responsibility and privilege to speak at various mission meetings attended by hundreds of destitute winos, alcoholics, drug addicts and others who had lost their way and were now in desperate need of help, physically and spiritually. God always ministered to me as well as to them for I seldom spoke to such a group without my heart being deeply stirred. Inevitably I found myself reaching out to these men, poor, dejected, discouraged, many of whom had not bathed for months, and yet I found myself embracing them in the name of Jesus, pleading with them to allow Him to turn the tragedy of their lives into His eternal triumph. Many did and with life-changing results.

But unfortunately, there were far more who refused Christ. I am reminded of one with whom I pleaded to surrender his life to Christ and receive the gift of God’s grace. He had, through the ravages of drink, lost his wife, his children, his business and even his health. He had absolutely nothing left, but his response to my insistence that he receive Christ was, “I cannot, I have too much to give up.” I could hardly believe my ears! God was waiting with arms outstretched, eager to embrace him with His love and forgiveness, to transform his life. Let us never forget that this is God’s desire for every person for He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Bible Reading: Psalm 102:18-28

Today’s Action Point: Today I will encourage others, rich and poor, old and young, all who are spiritually destitute, to turn to God, who loves and forgives, that they, too may experience eternal and supernatural life.

About this Author: Bill Bright

Check out the new CWT site and let us know what you think!

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

The new missionary heard a strange sound in the distance.  For some reason he felt afraid.  “What is that noise coming toward us?” he asked.  His native guides paused to listen.  Then their faces showed great fear.

Another native came running up and cried, “Army ants!  They’re coming!  Hurry, turn off at the fork up ahead!”

A little later they stood on a hill and looked down.  They saw a huge army of the stinging ants moving through the forest and eating.  Nothing seemed able to stand before them.  The missionary even saw a small animal disappear, the fast dinner of many ants!

Not far ahead was the river.  “Surely the river will stop them, won’t it?” the missionary asked.

His guide shook his head.  “No, nothing stops them–just watch!”

As the ants reached the river, they came together into groups.  Forming themselves into balls, they rolled into the river.  Then they rode with the current to the other side.  There they parted from one another and continued their march.

Standing Together
“There’s something to be learned from this,” the missionary said.  And so there was!  What would happen if those who love Jesus would stand together like that?  Well, people would really take notice–even as the natives do when the army ants surge by.  It would impress them to see those who stand for what they believe sticking together.

It would also help the work of our Lord Jesus to go forward.  People said of the first Christians that they “turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6).  They marveled at their unity and love for one another.  Many came to know Jesus Christ as their Savior because of the Christians’ unity, kindness, and good lives.

Working Together
When the army ants come to a river, they form themselves into balls to help one another cross safely to the other side.  Now, they do it because God put that in them to do it.  And if we love and follow the Lord Jesus, He puts it into our hearts to work together for Him.  He also causes us to want to help others.  That is one way we can know that we are truly His followers.

Army ants are also called ‘driver ants,” for they are always moving on.  When their march comes to a halt, they come together.  They settle down for a short while to become parents.

So the Lord wants us to move on to become better Christians.  We can do that by coming together regularly at our church to hear and learn God’s Word.  As we learn more, we can help others to become God’s children, too.  At God’s house we also learn to help others with their burdens.

One sign that we know God is the love we show toward God and others.  If we have this love, then we want to put it into action.  We want to help others who need help.  We will stick together with other Christians and work with them for God’s glory.

Questions: How can others know that we are followers of Jesus?  What are some things that we can do so that others will want to follow Jesus, too?

About the Author Muriel Larson

Please open your Bible and read John 3:1-15.

Did you ever think of God as “up close and personal”? Instead of being distant and unapproachable, the Creator of the universe has constantly sought to come near to us. In order to save us, He chose to identify with us; He also made it possible for His Spirit to indwell us as our counselor and guide. God extends to everyone a personal invitation for an intimate relationship with Him and to follow Him closely.

If we look at His call to many people throughout Scripture’s recorded history, it’s clear that this is not a general, vague offer. (Jeremiah 1:5) God desires that you seek Him with all your heart so that you would find Him and the future He has planned for you. (Jeremiah 29:11-13)

But before anything else, God’s first call to any of us is a call to salvation – He wants us to open the door of our heart so that He can cleanse us and do a transforming work in our lives. He calls you as an individual to receive His love, His forgiveness, and a new identity through spiritual rebirth.

Your eternal destiny depends upon your decision to answer His call with an open heart. To say “yes” is to embark on the adventure of a new life full of purpose – the life with Him that you were created to live. Have you responded to this incredible call on your life? If you have, reaffirm your commitment to Him. If haven’t answered His call yet, make today your spiritual birthday by receiving Jesus as your personal Savior and making Him the Lord of your life.

Question: Do you have an intimate relationship with God?

About this Author: Charles Stanley

Where is your faith?

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished …” (John 19:28 (NKJV).

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30 (NKJV)

Salvation was completely accomplished on the cross that day.

According to Strong’s concordance, the word “salvation” includes the concepts of “rescue, safety, deliverance, health, victory, help, success in everything, welfare, save, and liberty.” That is a very exciting and comprehensive package, and it belongs to each one of us who have received Christ. Not that we experience all of these things from the moment we are saved, but they are available to us and by faith we can trust God to work each one of these things into our lives.

The Word tells us that we are to “work out our own salvation” (Philippians 2:12). Our salvation package is akin to Israel being given the Promised Land. Though they had not even entered into it yet, they had God’s assurance that it belonged to them, but they would have to go in and take it one piece at a time. All that salvation offers is our Promised Land, and it is already ours even though we may not be experiencing it yet. It is up to each one of us to understand what God’s sacrifice has provided for us, to believe by faith that we can have it, and then “work it out” by coming into alignment with God’s principals, and see the promises become a reality in our own lives. This is what it is to “take back what the enemy has stolen from us.”

“I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord” (Psalm 116:13).

“Let your mercies come also to me, O Lord, Your salvation according to Your Word” (Psalm 119:41).

“Lord I hope for your salvation and I do your commandments” (Psalm 119: 166).

“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).

Questions: What does the word “salvation” mean to you?

About the Author Emmie Stanley

Sometimes I think there are two people living in this body. One is positive thinking, ready to take on the world. The other is scared, always hiding where it’s safe. I like positive Phil. He’s fun to be around, people respect him and he makes a difference. Scared Phil, on the other hand, I loathe. He believes he has failed even before he tries. He believes people tolerate him. I want positive Phil to live and scared Phil to die.

So why does scared Phil keep showing up? How do I get rid of him, permanently? It’s like he’s handcuffed to me and I’m stuck with him until one of us has served his time. Why is positive Phil missing when I need him most? He comes, visits, then goes back to where ever he came from.

When I was a kid, I wanted my own section of the garden. Dad gave me a row and I planted what I wanted in my row. Tomatoes, bell peppers and corn. Having my own row in the garden meant I was responsible for the care of the row.

I’d come home from school, go out to the garden and water my row. Every day I hoped to see one of the plants poking up out of the ground. Four or five days had passed, I had watered them as I was taught and still, there wasn’t a sprout to be seen. I grew frustrated. This garden wasn’t fun anymore. It was work. It wasn’t long until I was giving my bike the attention my garden needed. My plants didn’t grow well. They didn’t produce much and what they did produce wasn’t very good. I had a good crop of weeds, though. I wanted to have a good garden, but wanting didn’t get me a good garden.

What if the two Phils are like my garden? What am I doing to nurture positive Phil? Or have I grown impatient because I haven’t seen results after a couple of days? One thing’s for sure, scared Phil grows, even when I’m not trying to grow him. Growing positive Phil is hard work. I want positive Phil to grow, but just wanting won’t make it happen.

However, I don’t have to work alone in growing positive Phil. There is Someone who wants to help. Someone who is able to do much more than just want. “And I am sure that God, who began this good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” (Philippians 1:6 NLT)

Father God,
In Your Word, You’ve told me what it takes to grow up to be Your man. But it’s hard and I get frustrated and impatient when I don’t see immediate results. Give me courage to live for You when I’m scared. Give me strength to keep going when I’m weak and tired. Finish the work You’ve started in me.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Questions: Do you feel the pull between being a confident man and a frightened man? How does knowing that God is committed to completing the good work He began in you help you today?

About this Author: Phillip Lemons

“What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” (Philippians 3:8, 9)

In these verses Paul passionately proclaims that his overarching purpose, his only desire, is to know Jesus.

More important than his good name, his family heritage, his impressive education, his religious zeal or his good works, is his yearning for his Messiah.

His life’s goal is to gain Christ and be found in Him.

I remember when I was dating my husband, over twenty years ago, how we would spend hours and hours talking. My life was organized around spending every possible minute with him. I wonder if that gives us a glimpse of the desire with which Paul pursued Jesus.

Knowing Christ isn’t a part-time hobby, merely the spiritual side of our multi-faceted lives or a passing fad. We need to pour all of our energy into seeking Jesus Christ as the only way to know God. Like Paul, we need to seek a righteousness that we can’t produce on our own, but can only discover through faith in Jesus.

God, I want to be passionate for you the way that Paul was. I want everything in my life to be worthless to me in comparison with knowing Christ. I want to gain Jesus, my Messiah, and be found in Him. I want the righteousness that only You can give.

Questions: What keeps you from making Christ your passion? What do you need to surrender (consider worthless) in order to make knowing Christ your only goal?

About this Author: Suzanne Benner